Page 100 of Born into Blood

Luka senses a change in me as my mind tries to drag me down to a place I don’t want to go, because he holds me tighter and kisses my forehead.

“It’s not your fault,” he whispers. “I will spend the rest of my life making sure you never feel an ounce of guilt because of what he and your uncle did. It’s not on you, kisa, and I will never allow you to carry that burden.”

I nod, not trusting myself to speak, and sink into his hold. Closing my eyes, I rest against him while Max drives us the rest of the way. I’m trying to save what little strength I have for what’s about to happen. I’m not looking forward to getting stitches, and I’m really not looking forward to the conversation we’re all about to have with my mom. I can only hope that she’s in a better frame of mind when I see her and that she doesn’t try to hurt anyone else. She’s about to be faced with a reality that she’s been actively denying for twenty years. I hope to god it’s not the final straw that breaks her mind and sends her tumbling into an abyss that not even I can bring her out of.

Chapter 16

Luka

Lara stays huddled up against me as I carry her into my Uncle Vitaly’s penthouse apartment. I know she’s terrified of facing everyone, ashamed of what her dad’s done, and worried about her mom, but she’s keeping herself together, and I’m so damn proud of her.

I texted my family on the drive here, telling them I want Lara stitched up before anything else, so I’m not surprised that my Uncle Matvey is the only one waiting for us. I give him a nod to let him know we’re ready right before he leads the way to the closest bathroom. They got here a few minutes before us, giving him just enough time to set out the supplies he needs. Lara eyes the needle and syringe filled with lidocaine and lets out a shaky sigh, resigning herself to what’s about to happen.

It breaks my heart to set her on the counter, because it should be my ass that’s about to undergo this. She should never have had to get another mark on her skin. She’s taken too many already, and she definitely shouldn’t have a new scar because of me. I cup her face and wait until her blue eyes meet mine.

“This is the one and only time we’re doing this, kisa. Never again.”

She hears how serious I am and gives a soft nod, but she’s not fooling me. I know her stubborn ass and too-big heart will never allow her to stand back if I’m in danger, so I’m just going to have to make sure she’s never in this situation again.

“Ready?” my Uncle Matvey asks, getting everything together. I think he’s stitched together just about every member of our family at this point. Max and I got our first stitches together when we were nine and we were all staying at the farmhouse for the weekend. The three of us had made a homemade ramp and then dared each other to jump our bikes over it. Val was the only one who’d cleared it. Max and I carry the scars of our shame—him on his right knee, and me on my left elbow. Our moms had been less than thrilled when we’d showed up laughing and covered in blood.

“Yeah, let’s get this done,” Lara says, holding her arm out for him.

He unties the fabric that I’d put on there to stop the blood, and when he takes it off, I wince at how bad it is. She hadn’t been complaining on the drive, but the cut is deep, and she’s going to need quite a few stitches to close it up.

“It’s not that bad,” she tells me, worrying more about comforting me than the cut on her arm. “Hardly hurts at all.”

I know she’s lying, and my uncle gives a soft scoff to let her know that he knows she’s lying too.

“Well, it’ll be numb soon anyway,” she says, trying to make light of it while looking between the two of us.

I squeeze her hand and kiss the back of it, feeling her whole body tense when Matvey rips the sleeve of her shirt off so he can see the wound better. She’s nervous about her scars, but my uncle knows better than to say a word about it. He doesn’t even let on that he sees them, grabbing the syringe and giving Lara a reassuring smile before he presses the needle to her skin.

“Take a breath,” he tells her. “It’s going to hurt like a bitch at first, but it’ll be numb soon, I promise.”

“Okay,” she tells him, shaking her head and squeezing my hand tighter.

I hook a finger under her chin, tilting her head toward me so she can’t see what he’s doing. I keep my eyes on hers, hating the way she flinches when he pushes the needle in. He slowly makes his way around the cut, making sure to numb the entire area.

“Almost done, baby,” I tell her.

She nods, her mouth clenched in a tight line until the lidocaine slowly starts to work and she relaxes a bit.

“Better?” Matvey asks her.

“Much,” she tells him, glancing his way before bringing her eyes back to mine.

“Good.” Matvey starts reaching for what he needs next. “I’m going to clean it out and then stitch it. I’ll be as quick as I can.”

“Okay.” Her voice is still a bit shaky, but she’s keeping her eyes off what he’s doing and keeping them on me. I smile and keep her hand between mine, caressing her skin with my thumb. “Is my mom okay?”

Her eyes are on mine, but I know she’s talking to my uncle. His steady hands keep working on her as he says, “She’s okay. Confused, but okay.” In Russian he tells me, “Danil was forced to show her some footage on the drive here. She refused to believe that her precious Osip could have done anything wrong, but Danil has too much proof to ignore. She hasn’t spoken a word since she saw it.”

Lara knows we’re talking about her mom, but instead of demanding a translation, she looks at Matvey, meeting his dark eyes. “I’m so sorry about what my dad and uncle did to your wife. It makes me sick to know he did something like that, to know he hurt so many people.”

Matvey’s hands still mid-stitch. He lets out a deep breath and then sticks the needle back into her skin. “Thank you for saying that, Lara, but none of this is your fault. You weren’t even born yet. We don’t blame you for any of this.”

His fingers are firm but gentle as they continue sewing my girlfriend’s beautiful skin back together again. He switches to Russian and without looking at me says, “I killed her dad.” My face is a mask, giving nothing away as he continues. “I tortured her dad and uncle for days, but it was Alina’s kill, not mine. I brought her to them, and she took her revenge on Konstantin, ended his pathetic fucking life. My wife is the strongest woman I’ve ever met, but it’s hard to kill someone up close like that. She didn’t have it in her to do Osip as well, so I did it for her.”

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